{"id":3357,"date":"2014-02-03T07:14:03","date_gmt":"2014-02-03T07:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=3357"},"modified":"2014-02-03T07:14:03","modified_gmt":"2014-02-03T07:14:03","slug":"us-special-forces-operate-in-134-countries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2014\/02\/03\/3357\/","title":{"rendered":"US special forces operate in 134 countries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"images\/stories\/news3\/us-soldiers-afghanistan.jpg\" border=\"0\" style=\"float: right; margin: 5px;\" \/>Despite varying opinions on how and why the 9-11 tragedy took place, after this event the US has only been making headlines in connection with certain incidents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <!--more-->  <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, many more important subjects are often overlooked. One of the most important things that have been ignoring about the US is their SpeCIAl Operation Forces that operate in approximately 134 countries worldwide.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These forces are currently waging a full-scale war across the globe, and their operations along with their personnel and budget have seen an alarming increase since 9-11. Near to the end of the Bush administration, these SpeCIAl Forces were found in around 60 countries. By 2010, their operation field widened to include 75 countries. In 2011 this number shot up to 120, and in 2013, it reached 134 according to their own statistics. In other words, during the Obama administration, their operation field increased by 123%.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Along with the increase of wars, the Obama administration has also expanded its predator drone campaign and electronic spying projects. What\u2019s even more worrying is the fact that the best trained US speCIAl forces who are operating in these 134 countries are unable to be investigated.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">While it is difficult to guess what kind of response the US will get, as well as the catastrophic consequences that will be born out of this situation, it\u2019s not difficult to presume that the final result will not be a good one.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">From his alternative media website TomDispatch.com, investigative journalist Nick Turse gives his account of what the increase of US military and intelligence operations means.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">SOCOM, which is responsible for the speCIAl operations units, was founded in 1987, but became more active after 9-11. While the number of SOCOM staff in 2011 was 33,000, in 2014 that figure stands at 72,000. SOCOM\u2019s budget has also increased from 2.3 billion dllars in 2001 to 6.9 billion dollars in 2013. If bonus funds are included, the current budget stands at 10.4 billion dollars. Additionally, in 2001 only 4,900 staff were operational overseas, but in 2013, 11,500 members of staff were working abroad.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In another study, the TomDispatch website used government sources to show that between 2012 and 2013, US SpeCIAl Forces had been engaged in direct conflict in 106 countries.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Last year, SOCOM chief William McRaven spoke at a committee meeting and explained his vision of expanding the SpeCIAl Forces\u2019 operations. He said that the SpeCIAl Operation Forces were widening their worldwide network of unites and international collaborators in order to deal with the rising threat and be available in the right places to defeat them across a wider operational field. This included keeping small units in certain in certain areas for long periods, ready and waiting to act on demand.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In April and May 2013, US SpeCIAl Forces teams were trained in Djibouti, Malawi and the Seychelles. In June the US navy was involved in operations in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. This included war simulation sessions in Jordan\u2019s Aqaba. In July, a team was sent to Trinidad and Tobago to train in small-scale operations. The following month, they trained the Honduras navy in bomb diffusion. In September, US SpeCIAl Forces also teamed up with elite units from ASEAN nations to train in anti-terror operations, which was funded by both the US and Indonesia.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In October, US teams facilitated the kidnapping of individuals they deemed to be dangerous in Libya and Somalia. While their operation in Libya ended successfully, the operation in Somalia ended in a fiasco. In November they helped distribute aid in the Philippines after it was hit by a devastating typhoon, and in December they also partook in a training session at a British base. In the same month, they also carried out an evacuation operation in South Sudan. In January 2014, they were involved in a clash in Afghanistan\u2019s Kandahar province.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">SOCOM isn\u2019t simply involved in military operations. They also have 10 propaganda websites, disguised as normal news websites, and are currently looking for clients in other countries to set up new websites that will be used to influence their people. CentralAsiaOnline.com has already been set up for the people of central Asia, Al-Shorfa.com targets the people of the Middle-East, Infosurhoy.com targets Latin America, while Sabahi is aiming to bring the Horn of Africa under its influence.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">While SOCOM operates autonomously, it is linked to a number of important organizations. According to Admiral McRaven, SOCOM operates within 38 state-controlled organizations in the US, including the CIA, the FBI and the NSA.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Even though Barack Obama was chosen as an electoral candidate in 2008 as someone who opposed war, his policies have demonstrated otherwise. He may have pulled out of Iraq and decreased the number of US troops in Afghanistan, he has increased the number of American soldiers in Africa. He has also used the war on drug gangs as an excuse to boost US military presence in Latin America and has displayed a stern stance in his policies on Asia.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The predator drones program has also expanded from 51 recorded drone strikes during the time of George W. Bush to 330 strikes during Obama\u2019s era, according to the London-based investigative journalist\u2019s bureau. In 2013, US troops were involved in operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. Moreover, the revelations of defector Edward Snowden have shown the world that NSA snooping has spread to frightening proportions.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">10 years on from George W. Bush\u2019s \u2018mission accomplished\u2019 speech, we can see that the US so called \u2018war on terror\u2019 has only spread more chaos. Instead of bringing an end to Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda had spread and become more visible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Source:<em><strong> Worldbulletin<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite varying opinions on how and why the 9-11 tragedy took place, after this event the US has only been making headlines in connection with certain incidents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US special forces operate in 134 countries - 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